The Unavoidable
by towriteortoread
Summary: Now though, what was in front of him was unavoidable. There was no excuse, no way to get sidetracked. What was in front of him could not be ignored because wherever he turned, it was there and this rattled Oliver to his very core. (first fic, please be gentle) (PS! Changed the story a ton, redoing some chapters. sorry, had a change of ideas)
1. Chapter 1

In Oliver Queen's overly-complicated life, it seemed as if even though he knew what was best for him, he had to try every single option before settling. His sanity, safety, emotions be damned, he couldn't just admit to himself when something good was standing in front of him. Always, even before the island, had he pushed away the better options for the simpler or sometimes more dangerous options.

Now though, what was in front of him was unavoidable. There was no excuse, no way to get sidetracked. What was in front of him could not be ignored because wherever he turned, it was there and this rattled Oliver to his very core.

For five years Oliver was tucked away on the hellish island that separated him from his family and his life. His only physical memory of his home, his life, was the photo of Laurel Lance that was wrinkled, folded, and tucked into his empty and meaningless wallet. That photo was what got him through every botched stitch and dark night. Truly he was more in love with that photo of Laurel than he actually was with her.

The photo also tortured Oliver. Every glance at that image brought his mind to Sarah, who he had originally assumed was dead. He took her away from her family, caused division in her family and the only way Laurel found out that the love of her life was cheating on her with her sister was when she found out that both the love of her life and sister were dead. How horrible of a person was he that he let that kind of damage occur to the Lance family. Division, damage, turmoil, all caused by Oliver and his selfish ways. He hated himself.

And once he realized Sarah was actually alive, she became his new muse. Sarah had to live, she had to make it off of the island even if he didn't. Often times he felt himself falling in love with Sarah, as they fought their way through the obstacles the island brought upon them. But then, they too were separated again and the misery sunk back into his life and he turned back to his photo.

Once he returned home, Oliver subtly attempted to fall in love with Laurel again. It was her photo that got him through many sleepless nights and he had to assure himself that being unfaithful to her was his absolute biggest mistake. He could look back and laugh at that now, how badly he thought he needed to be with Laurel; how hard he tried in his own ways. And even for her, he made excuses. It was too dangerous for them to be together because she would be a target to his enemies. But his excuses weren't to avoid the inevitability of them being together, but to avoid the inevitable fact that they never would be in love again.

MaKenna was a lovely distraction for Oliver. A past fling that could numb the constant loneliness, but it didn't fill the odd void he felt. MaKenna's break up was simple, incredibly easy to get over, actually more of a relief. MaKenna was just another option to try because something inside of him tugged him towards what he actually knew was right, but everything else pulled him away. MaKenna seemed to be the closest as he drifted away from his true contentment.

He ridiculed himself for Helena. He believed they had so much in common and would work so well together. There were no excuses for him to stray from her, she lived a life like him. But Helena was, well insane, and not to mention out for more blood than Oliver could even imagine. She was heartless in every way and Oliver knew he didn't stand a chance against her mind and her emotions because they were one in the same. Once her mind and heart agreed, she was unstoppable and unstable. She was before what was right for him, but lingered too long.

And no one was more upset when Oliver began to drift back to Laurel than Oliver himself. He was torn in so many ways with Laurel, and he could hardly mask the pain he felt actually being around her. And while he tiptoed around with his feelings, her feelings, and his best friend's feelings, what he knew he needed was standing off waiting and watching.

What was his excuse to avoid what was now unavoidable. It was too dangerous to even attempt. It was a fine line they already walked. Their relationship developing so quickly every day, every moment really. He watched her change under him and he could never decide if she was becoming stronger or more dependent. Part of him, an incredibly large part of him actually, wanted her to be growing stronger around him. It gave him a reason to pursue her, it allowed the thoughts to cross his mind without regrets. But when he found her the target of many, he couldn't fathom diving deeper into anything with her.

At first she was nothing more than a friend, someone he trusted blindly but for good reason. Oliver recognized beauty, but he also recognized fragility and since the island he had matured. She became somewhat of a younger sibling figure, like Thea. He would obviously protect her, no questions asked. But she babbled and could be irritating like a little sister. He pushed her buttons as much as she pushed his and their bickering became constant to a point where Diggle refused to be in the same room until they would "kiss and makeup".

And when anything like that was said or implied, both would grow silent. It was obvious she had feelings for him, he had flirted with her to manipulate her and he felt bad for the girl. Her lack of a filter subjected her to many awkward slip ups, many innuendos not meant to ever be heard. It was entertaining for Oliver, which Diggle scolded him for frequently.

It was when he returned to the island that he somewhat realized she was what he needed. Picture of Laurel still tucked into his wallet that he brought with him to relive his time on the island, and thoughts of Sarah along with the photo, Oliver found it way too easy to ignore it all. When he was bored and she shot pointless arrows into the trees, he thought of what snarky comment she would make about accidentally harming innocent animals. As he counted his push ups or pull ups, Oliver thought about how she watched him intently during a workout and how he missed those wide, blue eyes.

Then suddenly there she was, he heard that voice from atop the tree and relief flooded over him. Had he been tense? He hadn't even realized it until the feeling left him all at once. But of course she found trouble in .5 seconds and he didn't hesitate to reveal himself and come to her rescue. He may not believe himself a hero to anyone else, but to her, he was. And there he was, pinning her safely to the ground, the closest he had been to another human and months and of course it was with her.

Smiling, she had him smiling too. Her jab about the coconut, she was probably partially interested in trying coconut, but she was also disguising her worries for his nutrition. Sometimes she was like a glass door, so easy to see through.

Was he really agreeing to come home to save the city, or was it because she wanted him to save the city? He debated that in his head as their plane ride out of China dragged on. He was envious of how close she and Diggle had become, her head rested on his bulky arm and she drifted to sleep. Diggle was her big brother figure now, which made Oliver what to her? He pondered on and on as he watched her sleep.

They bickered even more after her returned. Himself ignoring the obvious and pushing her away without hesitation. He hurt her too many times, chasing endlessly for no reason after Laurel's affection, or even acceptance as both the Hood or as Oliver himself. And with Isobel, Oliver had never felt worse. The look on her face when she saw the woman solely intent on torturing her leave his suite, Oliver won't forget it. He excused his actions, even tried to explain to her that he couldn't get into anything serious with her because it wasn't safe. But who was he fooling because constantly he was trying to create relationships around her, she wasn't stupid.

But the moment she was in danger, every wall he was attempting to build to keep her out crumbled so quickly and he was there for her like he always promised himself that he would be. She would go out on a limb for him, be a the bait for a psycho or travel alone into the Glades only to come face to face with evil and insanity.

The Count had been an eye opening experience for Oliver. Racing to her rescue, unsure really of her safety. And when the man had the needles millimeters from her skin, her veins pulsing beneath, Oliver never wanted her to be in that kind of position ever again. He would have killed that man a million times more for attempting to take her away from him, and yet she was the one to apologize. She felt that to him she wasn't worth killing for, she wasn't worth it to him. But she was, she was and always would be worth it.

Why does he only notice a good thing when it's gone though? Seeing her flirt with the boy/man, Barry Allen, kept Oliver on edge. How could he concentrate when she wasn't keeping her focus on him and their missions but on re-applying blush and lipstick for that child? He couldn't really focus on anything but regaining her attention for a while. And of course it backfired on him and he had to reluctantly let her go at some point.

Of course Sarah returns though, tumbles into his and her life and he is back on the island. Sarah fights away the league of assassins and her family, and he realizes she is as alone as he feels. Sarah brings him back to that pre-island era though as she tries to rebuild her life from scratch. Back into the cycle of dealing with detective Lance and his disapproving looks and comments.

She waited for him still, obviously hurt and feeling like she meant nothing to him. Always she was trying to prove her worth, and always she was throwing herself into danger. For a time Oliver equated her to that little sister again, trying to get attention and acting out. But Diggle made it known to Oliver that she was the one who, at the end of the day, was always there for him.

So after Sarah left again, because she couldn't handle life off of her own personal island, Oliver had no more excuses. There was nothing left for him to distract himself with. And there she sat, alone in the foundry with her bright heels at the base of her chair and her toes peeking out from under her skirt. Her hair was down and occasionally she ran a hand through it. Her glasses were propped up on the keyboard and her fingers dance around them. She was completely in her element.

Oliver found himself enamoured with that view. He could imagine himself slowly walking over and planting a kiss on her head, or her neck. He could whisper in her ear and bring back the giggles that had disappeared so long ago. What was stopping him from doing that now? Diggle was off with Lyla, enjoying his life. Verdant had closed long ago, the sun about to rise. The only two left in the building were him and her. What was stopping him?

He found his hands on her shoulders, massaging them slowly and telling her how important she was to him. Of course she took this as important to the team, but Oliver needed to get her to understand. She stood up against the Count, against the Doll Maker, to Laurel, to his mother, she could face anything and he couldn't face her. He spun her chair to face him and looked into her confused eyes before leaning in quickly and capturing her mouth.

He looked up her name, Diggle saying once that she was the absolute definition of her name. Intense happiness. It was true. She truly did envelope the name Felicity well.


	2. Chapter 2 (redone)

It was no surprise to Oliver that sleep was once again evading him tonight. It had been a busy night for himself, Diggle, and Felicity as they chased down yet another gang leader around the Glades. Oliver had also had his weekly meal with Thea, he had removed himself from the Queen manor these days to avoid his mother, but for the past eight months Oliver had been meeting with Thea weekly for a "family" dinner. Dinner had come after an eventful day of meetings at Queen Consolidated with Isobel and her gang of elderly, white males. Needless to say, it had been a stressful day for Oliver and he knew sleep probably wasn't going to come.

Not getting a full night's sleep was nothing Oliver hadn't faced before, he usually ran on four or less hours of sleep; he would stay up all night on the salmon ladder, with endless amounts of tennis balls, or with stacks of QC files in front of him. He did well to busy himself as the night passed, Oliver didn't take to sitting still too well, and this is why he felt bad.

It was a little after three in the morning, only two hours after she snuggled into his side, that Oliver realized that sleep wasn't in tonight's plans. He tried, oh he tried so hard, to just bask in the comfort of having her body draped over his; he ran his fingers through her long strands of hair and traced pictures and words on her back, but Oliver couldn't sit too still for long. So it was at three in the morning that Oliver had shifted her off his chest gently and crawled out of her bed and made his way to the living room as he often did on nights like this one.

Now it was ten 'til four and Oliver had ran out of focus when it came to the app that he had been preoccupying himself with on her tablet. So Oliver quite literally twiddled his thumbs for a moment, thinking of what he could do without leaving her apartment. He couldn't lie to himself, staying at her apartment, sleeping next to her every night, had drastically helped his insomnia. The past three months have made an incredible difference, although he still suffered through several nights like this, he might have seen the inside of the foundry passed 3 a.m. maybe three or four times in twelve or so weeks. It was a major improvement, but that was because more recently he had someone cuddled with him, someone wrapped around and tucked into him at night.

Most sleepless nights with her were spent on her couch until early in the morning when he would slide back into bed and pretend he had slept next to her all night. However most nights started off sleepless, and he had to force himself to sit still in bed, those nights were truly Oliver's favorite nights. Those nights Oliver's appreciation for her rose even higher than it already was. He would prop himself up so that she had a more comfortable spot to sleep in and he would stare at her, thinking of how wonderful she was and sometimes how he knew he didn't deserve her and her forgiveness and faith, but still he spent the entire night staring at her.

Tonight wasn't looking to be one of those nights though, it was looking to be a couch night. That was until he heard the small whimpers. His trained ears were always on alert, especially in her apartment where she usually left her bedroom window unlocked so that he could slither in as Arrow.

It was a small whimper at first, like a murmur in sleep meant to be heard by no one. Oliver smiled to himself, even in sleep the girl couldn't deal with complete silence. However the whimpers continued for a moment, growing a bit louder and Oliver was immediately in her bedroom.

Clenched in her small fists were her sheets in the spot where his body usually was, the sheets that she religiously had wrapped around herself were pushed off of the bed, leaving her bare legs open to the chill of the room. She was only wearing one of his t-shirts tonight, she had grown accustomed to pulling one of his t-shirts out of his drawer and using as a nightgown, or on better nights, picking his shirt up off of the floor. But for a cooler summer night like this, with a breeze blowing through the crack of the window, Oliver knew she was freezing. Her hair had matted in certain spots because she had been sweating. Oliver could recognize one of her nightmares, and it broke his heart because he probably had a decent idea of what had caused her nightmare-free streak to come to an abrupt in.

He had been standing there for a moment, assessing her and the situation and allowing the unavoidable guilt to settle inside of him before he acted. It was the whispered cry of _Oliver_ that had escaped her lips that brought Oliver to.

Instantly he was at her side, prying the sheets from her fingers and wiping the two tears from her cheeks. He pulled her into him and he felt her fingers grasp at his shoulders and that only made him squeeze her harder. Her body was so tense pressed to his, and he missed her softness in these moments. Oliver planted a soft kiss to her forehead and rocked her slightly like Raisa had done to him after many a nightmare as a child.

"It's okay," he whispered into her hair.

Had he just forced himself to lay in bed with her for a little longer, maybe she wouldn't be dealing with this. Oliver knew how she was now at night, she had told him about her sleep troubles just as he had informed her of his. He had always suspected that she suffered from some sort of insomnia after her ordeal with the Count because he could sometimes see bags weigh her eyes down as she stared at her computer screen, but she confirmed it for him during one of their nights that they had spent talking for hours.

She had explained to him that she didn't have abandonment or attachment issues, but she was slow to trust and it always led her to believe her that she had no one. Of course she trusted Oliver, and Digg, but when she left their protection, her "circle of trust" closed in on herself and she felt alone and vulnerable. Oliver noticed after the first few nights with her that she held tight to him sometimes throughout the night, as if he was going to leave her alone. And sometimes he did leave her, only for a few hours so that he didn't make her suffer through his sleepless nights, but he always came back and he always would come back to her.

Oliver could understand if she had a hard time believing that of him though, even though she seemed to believe him, he would still understand if deep down she didn't. He had given her reason enough to leave him if she wanted, it would truly break Oliver, but she deserved the best and on too many occasions he had given much less than that.

Always Oliver would blame himself for her nightmares and for her worries and suffering now. Had he not shoved himself into her car and thrust his secret upon the girl he knew wouldn't give up on him then she wouldn't be in any of the mess that she was in these days. She wouldn't be needing him to chase away nightmares of bad guys, or bad guys in general, if she was 18 floors down in the IT department playing oblivious to Oliver's lies. But Oliver is and always has been a selfish soul and he couldn't not have her.

In the beginning she had been exactly what he needed to take down every member on his list, he used her by manipulating her. A smirk here, a smile, a wink, a shoulder touch and she was hooked. Once he realized her full talent, he didn't mind sharing his secret and introducing her to his second life, and then relying on her fully for everything except the fighting and even sometimes he stuck her in the field as well. But the more he was with her the more she unraveled him and she knew Oliver. Not Ollie, or the new Ollie, and not just back-from-the-island Oliver, but all of Oliver. She knew all of him, his anger and hurt, and she brought out his happiness.

Now though, she was his happiness. Everything about her, the rambling, the obvious flirting, her short skirts, all of it was his happiness. Oliver loved coming home to her now, stripping himself of his Arrow suit or his QC suit and listening to her ramble while he changed from one Oliver and into the next. He had never been the type to listen to someone tell him about their day, or massage a girl's calves while she painted her nails, or lay his head in a girl's lap. Never had he done those somewhat cliched boyfriend things, not even with the all mighty Laurel, had he done them. And she hadn't expected him to do that either. She had expected him to be the rough man, a rude lover, and to use her.

Oliver had seen the fear in her when he kissed her. After he lifted her from her chair in the empty foundry, adrenaline high from a mission and Diggle long gone for an evening with Lyla. He had asked himself _why not_ a million times before he moved himself closer to her, massaged her, captured her lips in his, and then changed both of their lives. But he won't forget the fear in her eyes after he kissed her, the worry she had that he wouldn't love her, that she was his next MaKenna, or Helena, or even Sara. She didn't know how long and hard he had thought about the moment they had just experienced though, and how he was in this with her for the long term.

She had been surprised when he lifted her legs onto his laps so that he could still be touching her while she painted her toes another bright color, and the look on her face when he insisted that she try on her new lipstick colors by kissing his cheek repeatedly. She had giggled endlessly as she planted firm kisses on his stubbled cheeks and he couldn't take her giggles anymore because as innocent as they were, they were intoxicating and stirred something within Oliver. He had ceased her giggles on that couch and listened to the moans that he loved hearing come from her. That's when he surprised her again by settling his head in her lap afterwards, her in his t-shirt again and rubbing the hair at the base of his neck. He hoped the moments like that made the fear of him leaving her diminish.

It would take more from Oliver, but he would continue to work at it for the moments like the one now. She had loosened her grip on him and her body was no longer tense. He slid down so that he was laying with her on top of him and he looked at the clock. It was quarter after four and he was feeling sleep creep over him; this was all it took really, half an hour with her and thinking about her and he was ready to dream and enjoy the rest of his night.

Oliver kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Oliver," she sighed sleepily, a smile growing on her lips.

Oliver smiled at his girl, he kissed her lightly on the lips and chuckled.

"Goodnight Felicity."


	3. Chapter 3 (redone)

Keeping their relationship a secret had ultimately been Felicity's idea. It wasn't as if everyone that truly knew the two of them would be shocked that it happened, but Felicity said it would be best to keep everything a secret until their world's settled down. Oliver believed however that Felicity was worried that going public would place a target and a strain on their relationship, again she had yet to see how truly dedicated Oliver was to her. It took the girl an entire month to even come to terms with the fact that they were even in a relationship.

Oliver had only spent every night for a month climbing through the window of Felicity's apartment, sneaking kisses in corners of the office and foundry, and eliminating her personal space bubble by always being intimately close to her; yet to Felicity she was incredibly unsure of what was going on and that had hurt Oliver. Had Oliver used that many women that Felicity had thought herself just another woman in the long line that is getting her fifteen minutes of Oliver fame?

A few weeks after their first kiss in the foundry, after Oliver had spent many a night in her bed, he pinned her to the couch and silenced her giggles with a heavy look and a heavy question.

_"What are we?"_

_ Something had settled over Felicity as her eyes grew darker, and sadder underneath his question. Reluctantly he let her sit up, and he felt her hands slide from his slowly. All of her worries had seemed to appear in that moment and he saw her insecurities so clearly then. Felicity had brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself, blocking her off. _

_ Felicity was a strong woman, one of the strongest women that Oliver Queen had ever come across. She hadn't been stranded on an island, battling death everyday like Sara. She had never struggled extreme loss like Laurel had with Oliver, her sister, and Tommy. Felicity had never fought obvious battles like everyone else that Oliver knew; Felicity had fought internal battles. She had struggled with being alone, defining her strengths and self-worth poorly because no one ever seemed to be around long enough to appreciate them. Felicity didn't take compliments well, they surprised her and she second-guessed them always. She trusted people to a fault and when they let her down she only blamed herself for trusting them. So she always left defining anything that she was a part of, or any part of herself to the other person so that she wouldn't be as disappointed or as hurt is she saw it coming from the get-go. _

_ It was unspoken but she had been waiting for Oliver to define their relationship, tell her what he wanted out of this. He was asking her now, trying to define their relationship and all of her fears and worries that had pent up came to light. It hurt Oliver to watch Felicity close up so quickly. _

_ "I don't know Oliver," she murmured, "what do you want?"_

_Her voice was soft and timid when she had spoken and Oliver felt the need to protect her in that moment. He leaned forward and slid her body into his arms, feeling her tense body relax into him and resting his chin on the top of her head. _

"_I want this to be whatever you want," Oliver spoke into her hair. _

_Felicity sighed heavily and Oliver kissed her temple. _

"_Felicity," he murmured, "you don't need to feel like the relationship is fragile, that it will break so easily."_

_She didn't respond to that, she just kept her head tucked into his chest. _

"_I like this," Oliver said, tightening his hold on her. "I like holding you, and coming home to you and being this cheesy Oliver."_

_Felicity laughed at that, he knew she would. But he didn't just want her to laugh or smile, but to understand him. Oliver meant everything he was saying to her. _

Oliver didn't know if Felicity truly understood everything he had said to her but it had been two months since that night and he was still crawling into her bed at night and waking up with her in his arms every morning. She seemed to be letting down her inner walls day by day, sharing new things with Oliver in their small periods of privacy. They were creating daily routines together, which Oliver took as a sign that she was growing more comfortable in the relationship.

Every morning, after three alarms, they both reluctantly untangled from each other and climbed out of bed. Felicity was meticulous as she got ready, showering, blow drying her hair, makeup; Oliver was surprised at how complex her ponytail actually was. Sometimes she stood in front of her closet full of brightly colored dressed in a bra and underwear, scientifically choosing her outfit while he admired from her bed. After she was dressed and Oliver was satisfied with his morning kiss, which he had grown to love and expect from his Girl Friday. But when he was satisfied, Oliver would make his way to the hotel where he had "taken up residence" since he found out Moira's secret. Digg picked him up first and then Felicity who would gleefully slide into the backseat, keeping a comfortable and non-suspicious distance between them.

"It is hard not to touch you," Oliver had whispered over Felicity's shoulder as he settled down for a meeting.

"Stop it Mr. Queen," Felicity murmured towards him as she placed a pad and paper in front of him.

Oliver found great pleasure in teasing Felicity, she had always seemed to bring out a playful side of him, a happier him. He could spent the entirety of a two hour meeting teasing the poor girl and he enjoyed paying for it late. The two were incredibly playful with each other, it helped to balance their very serious sides that they were always somewhat in touch with. Oliver enjoyed the playfulness between them though, it was a breath of fresh air. He also felt it was a sign that she felt more secure in the relationship, that she wasn't just tiptoeing around as much.

It was all about making her feel secure, making sure she felt safe and wanted because keeping that girl happy was all Oliver could focus on sometimes, and he didn't mind it at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Four o'clock in the morning seemed to roll around incredibly fast for Oliver. With spending almost twelve hours a day at QC and devoting the majority of his nights to cleaning up Starling City, Oliver was lucky to see a bed before three a.m. Tonight was different though for Oliver. Tonight he had been tucked in bed, Felicity by his side, since he had arrived back at her apartment at one this morning. Still, he was wide awake at four am, sleep the furthest thing from his mind.

Once again Felicity Smoak had managed to surprise him and terrify him at the same time.

_When Oliver Queen descended the stairs to the foundry he had expected to see Digg restocking the medical table and Felicity staring at her computers. That was usually how he found everyone when he came from late meetings, unless he had been forewarned that they had a lead on something because then the foundry was organized chaos, but today was supposed to be a calm day. _

_Oliver had actually been looking forward to his evening since he had managed to make his way through an entire day without a stern look from Diggle that usually signified some sort of problem to deal with, and no bad reports had come from Felicity either. This had meant for an early night at the foundry and an entire night with Felicity, which they never seemed to have anymore. _

_So as Oliver made his way down the staircase, his mood was light and he even wore a bit of a smirk on his face. However his mood changed the instant he saw what was actually happening in the foundry. Diggle stood in awe and pride as he stared up at the salmon ladder, his eyes never leaving the body gripped the metal bar above him. Oliver had to hold in a gasp as he stared at his most difficult yet stress-relieving workout apparatus and who was in the midst of gripping it. _

_Felicity Smoak was on the fourth out of the ten pegs, sweat dripping quickly down her temple and a triumphant gleam on her face. Instead of her usual body-con dress, or pencil skirt, or even her high-end workout gear, Felicity wore a pair of sweatpants and a dark green sports bra. Her freshly tan, and lean stomach showed the hint of defining abs and her bare arms were attempting to remind anyone who glanced at them of another, more vicious, blonde's. Oliver hadn't seen any of this coming, hadn't anticipated this sight. He questioned how her body went without notice to him as he was tending to see it bare almost every day now, and how he didn't know she had focused so much time on working out. The salmon ladder was always last in training, which meant she had spent time working up to this. _

_The pride on Digg's face however helped piece together the situation. Oliver knew that Felicity and Digg had been training, more so Digg just teaching Felicity some useful combat moves if God forbid she would be attacked, but he didn't know that they had been doing more than just that. They usually didn't have much time to even practice the combat moves, or so Oliver thought, because supposedly they only trained if Felicity left the office before Oliver and if there wasn't anything "team arrow" had to do that night, which recently was never. _

_Oliver had been staring for a moment too long, he felt the muscles in him tighten and something inside of him stir at the site of his Girl Friday, in her outfit, on his "toy" as she had called it before. His eyes were growing darker and he begged Lyla to have a reason for Diggle to leave right now. _

"_She's doing good huh?" Diggle asked as he brought attention to Oliver. _

_Oliver didn't answer at first, he was taming an inner beast, but Felicity snapped her attention to his face and squeaked. Obviously she hadn't been expecting to have Oliver see her like this. Her eyes widened at his expression and she grew flustered as she notoriously always did and lost her grip on the bar. Felicity's left hand seemed to lose its hold on the bar and Oliver started towards the ladder, ready to catch his damsel in distress. _

_His help wasn't needed though, instead of falling, Felicity regripped the bar, tightened her grip, and pulled herself up. She was amused with herself, Digg was amused with his prodigy, and Oliver was on the edge. Felicity surprised Oliver, making his heart seize, as she flipped over the bar like a child on a playground. A loud giggle escaped her lips as she let go of the bar, Oliver running to catch her. But her spotter was already in position to catch the falling girl. _

_Once in Digg's arms, Felicity released a loud, infectious laugh. For that brief thirty seconds, Oliver had seen his life flash before his eyes. He really did stress over Felicity putting herself in any kind of dangerous situations, and her flipping over a metal bar at least ten feet in the air over concrete, was a dangerous situation in Oliver's opinion. _

"_What do you think?" Felicity asked, she was smiling widely up at Oliver and still was firmly being held in Digg's arms. _

_He couldn't speak yet, recovering from the stroke he had just suffered from and he was repressing the small angry voice in his head that was threatening to come out of him. Felicity would never understand why he wasn't 100% okay with the situation that had just taken place. In her mind, Oliver should never worry about her, never be frightened that anything bad could happen, he should only worry about himself. She didn't understand that for Oliver that was impossible, that the things he strongly cared for he saw as fragile, even if they had immense strength._

_Even before the island, Oliver took great care of the things he truly, well loved. He wouldn't let his dearest baby sister try anything without Oliver having already tried it, hell he wouldn't even let her on a swingset because she could fall off and get hurt. He didn't like the idea of the one's he cared for being in any kind of harm's way, and he deemed a lot of things harmful. _

"_Fine," Felicity huffed as she jumped from Diggle's arms, "don't speak, but you can watch silently as I blow your mind."_

_Felicity tugged Digg towards the black mats, thumping Oliver's chest on her way as if to bring him back to life. Diggle followed behind Felicity like a father or big brother being dragged around a playground. Digg always seemed to bring out the playful/childlike side of Felicity, and vice versa. He was smirking at Oliver as Oliver watched each one of them take their place on the mat. _

_The main reason why they decided to train while Oliver was still at work was because Oliver was incredibly uncomfortable watching Felicity having to fight, he didn't want to think about her being in any kind of situation that she would need to do so. Even though she had already been in several situations where she needed to fight back, Oliver didn't enjoy reliving those moments either. He just wanted his girl safe. _

_But he couldn't bring himself to stop her right now on the mat because of the wide smile she wore, this was bringing her joy and who was he to deny her of that. _

"_Ready 'Licity," Digg asked._

"_Yeah, let's go!"_

_Digg rushed Felicity, putting a lot of power into his body slam, too much power. Felicity hit the mat with a smack and Oliver had to ball his fists together to keep from ripping his friend off of her. But Felicity made no sound other than a grunt as she tangled her arms with Digg's and successfully un-pinned herself and wrestled her way out of his grasp. She didn't stop there though, she flipped both of them over, reversing the roles and straddling Diggle. And with a triumphant smile, she pinned his arms to his side and turned to face Oliver. _

_A noticeably fake smile was immediately plastered onto Oliver's face and he continued to stay silent. Felicity's brows furrowed and her smile fell. Digg, being the good man that he was, resurrected her mood. He tapped lightly on her ass, and then flipped her back onto the mat. He grinned down at her. _

"_I thought you did well," he said. _

"_Thanks," she sighed. _

_Diggle stood then, offering a hand to the small girl and when she took hold of it, he yanked her to her feet. Felicity went about tightening her ponytail and avoiding Oliver's gaze and Digg grabbed a towel and started off towards the foundry's shower. Before he went off fully in that direction he pulled Oliver to the side. _

"_Ease up man," Digg whispered sternly, "she's only trying to impress you, you seem to take a liking to girls who can fend for themselves, and she just wants you to see her like that."_

_Oliver nodded curtly, he didn't want to further discuss this with Digg because Digg was behind on the situation and Oliver couldn't lie to him really. _

_Diggle hurried into the shower, leaving Oliver and Felicity alone. She stared off into the distance while she dabbed sweat from her face and neck and Oliver took her appearance in again. He truly was turned on by her look, the dark green sports bra he had originally thought was the best until he noticed that the baggy sweatpants were his, from her bottom drawer where he had been stowing his extra clothes. Oliver felt the urge to touch her, pull her into him. _

"_Felicity," Oliver started, but he knew he wouldn't be able to finish because once the silence was broken, she would drown the room in her voice. _

"_Oliver, you want me to be safe all the time but you hate when I try to help myself. It isn't fair you know, I can't make progress to being my own hero but in other girls, you find that attractive. Why can't I be muscled and work out? Maybe I like it! I mean I worked really hard to make it that high on the ladder, it took months Oliver!" _

_Oliver knew she wasn't truly angry by the softening tone of her voice, she was whispering because they couldn't speak loudly on their relationship with Diggle nearby, but she had been stern until she mentioned the other girls. Instead of answering her statements with words, Oliver just slowly made his way to her, giving her time to move if she wanted to avoid what was coming. She didn't move though._

_His arms encircled her when he got close enough and he felt both of their tension melt away. Felicity's arms tangled themselves behind his neck and her nose nuzzled into his neck. _

"_It isn't that 'Licity, you know I don't like you in danger, or picturing you in dangerous situations," Oliver whispered into her hair. _

"_But Oliver danger is unavoidable for everyone, danger is everywhere," she said. _

"_True," Oliver said, "but I don't want to acknowledge that when it comes to you."_

"_That isn't very fair," Felicity murmurred. "I like doing this, I like training, and I think I'm getting good, I don't want to stop just because you don't want to see me fight." _

_Oliver pulled back an inch from her, and he felt Felicity's grip on his shoulders tighten. _

"_You're right, it isn't fair, listen if it makes you feel better I'll just keep my frustration to myself and you can even use me to help you," he smiled. "Also, I'm sure I can help you out better on the ladder than Digg, no offense but I have more experience."_

_Felicity laughed and pulled him back to her. He kissed her temple quickly before letting her go. Oliver began to remove his jacket as Felicity stared at him with confused eyes. _

"_Show me again," he said. _

_Felicity smiled again at him and then he took his place on the mat. When he attacked her she burst into giggles and he couldn't fight off his own smile, but they held it together and she used the moves that Digg had taught her to get her from Oliver's grip and she fought hard to flip them. She surprised him yet again and he laughed aloud as she pinned his arms above his head, but instead of ending there, she pressed her body onto his and slit up to his chest. Felicity smirked as she watched his eyes and demeanor change quickly and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. _

"_Pinned ya," she whispered. _

_The speed at which Oliver had rushed Diggle out of the Foundry was record breaking and he was hardly able to contain himself during the dark car ride home as Felicity drew circles on the back of his hands as they made their way through the city and to her apartment. The six minutes to the hotel down the road was hellish for Oliver because all he could think about was his blonde girl waiting for him. _

_He had made it to her building from rooftop jumping in probably three minutes, and he watched from outside of her window as she settled onto her bed and began to loosen her hair from her ponytail. Oliver couldn't wait any longer and bounded in through her window. Felicity had yelped with surprise and laughed as he wrestled her into the bed. _

"_I wasn't expecting you so quickly," Felicity whispered against Oliver's skin. _

_Oliver couldn't focus on holding a conversation as Felicity slithered beneath him. _

"_Pinned ya'," he growled as he pinned her arms above her head and devoured her mouth._

After bounding his way into her room and spending his early night with Felicity wisely, Oliver hadn't found a way to sleep yet. Four am and he was still staring down at his beautiful girl. She had fallen asleep, her bare chest against his own, and her arms were drawn around his neck. He had been tracing circles on the skin of her shoulder and he was mesmerized with her.

Oliver had originally never seen himself with Felicity, or a girl like her for that matter. But now, Felicity in his arms, he couldn't see himself without her. It wasn't just that he needed her in the foundry either, although she was everything to him down there, she meant more just being herself. Her random smiles through the glass throughout the day, the way she giggled at Digg's painful jokes, how she too couldn't stand to watch Oliver and Digg spar because one of them always accidentally took it too far. Felicity made Oliver's days better, his nights more lively than any arrow missions could, and his life all around lighter.

There were times when he denied her, lessened his attention towards her, or hurt her, and he regretted that now. He tried to fix himself through each girl he made his way through, using their strengths to build him back up. Once he got close enough to one, he let Felicity go. She had a name for each girl Oliver dated, so Diggle had told him once. Laurel, Beautiful Laurel. Helena, understanding and strong Helena. MaKenna, brave MaKenna. The Laurel, Beautiful and Special Laurel. And Sara, perfect, badass, connected, Sara. She felt that she wouldn't amount to those women, that she wouldn't amount to anything in Oliver's eyes. Sometimes Oliver could tell that she thrived to instill a little piece of each woman inside of her to impress Oliver. Like working out and fighting, that was Sara, Oliver's longest relationship since the island.

It still hurt Oliver to this day seeing that small scar on her right shoulder that reminded anyone who saw it of the bullet that she had taken trying to be "badass" like Sara. What truly hurt Oliver though was his lack of concern for her when it happened. He was worried no doubt, but he was upset with her for endangering herself and he was too focused on fixing Sara and her family that he didn't even check up on her later. Diggle had given him an earful over that.

Now, tracing that scar, Oliver made a personal vow to never let anything distract him from her, to keep her in his top priorities and never to sideline her again.

"Oliver," Felicity sighed sleepily.

Her soft, groggy voice was sexy and stirred something deep within Oliver, but he knew she was too tired and was probably half asleep.

"Oliver go to sleep please," she whispered.

He chuckled, she had a way of knowing if he was or wasn't asleep these days. It had surprised him the first night she made it known to him, but he found it cute. What also surprised him was when Felicity used all of her weight to shift herself completely on top of him, straddling him. She grabbed his arms and pinned them to the headboard and then planted a firm kiss to his lips.

"Pinned ya'," she giggled, "now go to sleep."

Oliver rolled her beneath him and once again her arms wrapped around his neck. He nuzzled her neck and she purred underneath him before kissing his jaw and letting her eyes flutter shut. Soon after, Oliver drifted into sleep as well.


	5. Chapter 5

August had been a hot month for Starling City and Oliver had grown accustomed to waking up without his blonde IT girl in his arms due the fact that sleeping intertwined became unbearable with the seemingly inescapable heat. Beads of sweat would drip from both of them in the middle of the night and usually Felicity would break away first, peeling herself off of Oliver and rolling over to feel the coolness of the untouched side of the bed. By morning, the bed looked like a disaster area with the sheets and comforter on the floor alongside of pillows, and two sweaty bodies sprawled on top of it.

Unfortunately, Felicity lived in an apartment and the air conditioning unit could not be tampered with, because Oliver had already looked into buying her a new one. So the couple suffered through the unbearably hot nights because it was unavoidable. Oliver disliked not waking up with his girl tangled up with him, he had to roll over and reach out to her and that came him a little bit of anxiety deep inside. But Oliver had yet to wake up to an empty bed despite the hot month. That was at least until this morning.

_Had Oliver overslept? It was a Saturday morning, a late Saturday morning, and Oliver Queen never overslept. Usually he woke up to the sunlight peeking through Felicity's dark blue drapes, and if it wasn't the sunlight it was the restlessness of the figure next to him, who didn't leave the bed until his eyes had met her's. But this morning it seemed later and the sun trying to beam through the dark curtains confirmed that it was much later than Oliver usually woke up. _

_ As usual, Oliver rolled over expecting to find another sweating body next to him. He reached out first, his arm stretching out to finger the blonde locks that recently had been kept up in a ponytail to keep from burdening Felicity's neck with extra heat. However, Oliver felt nothing as he reached out and when his body had fully turned he found and empty right side of the bed. _

_ Part of Oliver panicked, the pessimistic part of him, and the more logical and optimistic part of him told him not to worry. But a slight breeze that tickled the back of his neck and he turned in time to see the dark curtains fall after being lifted by a breeze that came through an open window. The panicked part of Oliver tugged harder and he felt tense as he hurried from the bedroom to the living room. The house was empty, Oliver could tell by the silence in the connected living room and kitchen. He checked the front door, unlocked which was not how he had left it. In the living room, the desk by the front door where Felicity's house keys were still laying, it looked as if someone had kicked it over and tried to put it back together. _

_ Optimistic Oliver said that Felicity had most likely left to go to the store or something like that, left her keys on purpose and that is why the front door was unlocked, plus she is a clumsy girl and he knew she knocked over everything in one of her hurried paths. Pessimistic Oliver said that it was a subtle and very well planned break in and he was ready to test himself for drugs because he slept through it all. In through her damn unlocked window the kidnapper came, avoiding Oliver to take Felicity as leverage or for ransom, and she tried to kick over the desk as evidence and a clue for Oliver. _

_ Not understanding his motive of not checking his phone first, Oliver quickly made his way back to the bedroom and to his phone. His phone was turned upside down, not how he knew he left it the night before and he felt panic again. But as he flipped his phone over he noticed a small, folded note on bright pink paper. _

_Personal bet with myself said it took you way too long, actually estimated seven minutes, to find this note. Window is open because you were sweating so severely and you know how fond I am of the new sheets you bought me, love them too much to let you tarnish them with your hellacious sweating. Anyways, thought you'd enjoy the view. Plus, I couldn't wake you because Oliver Jonas Queen, you're too cute when you're deep in sleep. Your lips aren't pursed, your eyebrows aren't furrowed, it is too cute babe. Ew, sorry for using babe, it is unlike me. But I like babe better than "Ollie". I even ramble in notes, sorry. _

_ Went for a run, needed to be productive. I'll be back soon, promise. But if I came back to pancakes to reward me for my run, I'd be sure to give the chef whatever he desired. _

_ Felicity!_

_ Oliver simply smiled at the note, his optimistic side smirking inside of him. He rose from sitting on the bed and made his way to the kitchen to begin making Raisa's famous pancakes. As he started on the batter he heard the clicking of an opening door and then the faint sound of too loud headphones. _

_ "Oliver," Felicity smiled as she saw him in the kitchen, a bowl in hand. _

_ "Yes babe," Oliver teased, smiling at her. _

_ For someone who just ran, Felicity still looked amazing. Her hair was tied back of course, but loose strand had made their way out of the slick ponytail and were curled thinks to the sweat. She was in one of her well matched and serious work out outfits, bright blue cropped top and black with bright blue triangles spandex. Had she thought it was a good idea to go out into public like that? At least it was a cropped top and not a sports bra, he hated finding her working out with Digg in just a sports bra. _

"_Don't tease," Felicity said as she removed her headphones and shoes. _

_She stuck her shoes neatly in place, wrapped her headphones around her iPod and tucked it back into the desk drawer. Felicity slowly made her way to the kitchen, allowing Oliver to pour the first pancake into the skillet before she reached up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. _

_Felicity always knew how to frustrate Oliver, so instead of planting one soft kiss on his cheek while he was distracted with the cooking, she planted several soft and tongued kissed down his jawline, giggling slightly as she went. Oliver growled a bit, which he knew Felicity loved, and almost dropped the bowl. _

"_You're playful this morning," Oliver purred as he tried to concentrate on flipping the pancake while she continued her trail of kisses. _

_Felicity's arms snaked up and around his neck and she trailed her kisses up to his ear. Oliver had to focus on the pancake in the pan, he had to win. Felicity was playing a game and he enjoyed it but was too competitive to give in to her. _

"_Please, 'Licity babe," Oliver pleaded softly. _

_Her rugged intake of breath was all Oliver needed to hear. He flipped the pancake out of the pan and surprised Felicity by grabbing her around the waist and lifting her onto the counter. His lips found her neck and his goal was to make her beg. Felicity's legs wrapped around Oliver's waist and she pulled him closer. _

_If Oliver Queen could expect to spend Saturday mornings like this, he would trade everything in. Being CEO never mattered to Oliver, and sometimes on rough nights he wondered why being the hood mattered too, but he knew that the moments like this and that Felicity mattered. Felicity made QC matter to him, she put that in perspective for him everyday, and at his low points in the foundry she proved to him how much he mattered to the city. But if he had to choose, and he always felt like one day he would, these moments made it clearer and clearer to him what he would easily trade to keep the girl in front of him. _

_As their lips found each other, Oliver pulled her closer, his intentions to never let go. It had been almost five months now since they had officially been together, five incredible months for Oliver. He knew after probably the first month that he would really fall for this girl, and it was month five. To be completely honest, it had been almost three years. Three years of rambling and blushing and arguing for Oliver and Felicity, and after three years, it was time to say it. _

_Oliver slowly pulled out of the kiss and stared at Felicity. Her lips were swollen, her eyes darker and her lids drooping. A stray blonde hair danced in front of her face and Oliver gently tucked it into place before cupping her face. _

" '_Licity," he whispered…_

_A loud knock startled the two of them and Oliver went into protective mode while Felicity went into cover up. She shoved herself off of the countertop and began shoving Oliver, whose hands were on her hips, to the bedroom. "_Go_" she whispered several times, but Oliver was so reluctant to let her open the door, the girl didn't get many visitors. _

_Oliver peered around the corner of the bedroom door and watched as Felicity peeked into the eye hole of her door. A small squeal escaped her and she wrenched the door open with a wide smile. _

"_Barry!" Felicity squealed. _


	6. Chapter 6

Too quickly Oliver had wedged himself into the incredibly small laundry room in the back of Felicity's kitchen. This was the second time that Oliver had found himself in the broom closet-sized space which smelled like the lavender detergent that Felicity used. The first time that he was in this space Diggle had stopped by with some homemade soup from a concerned Lyla for a flu-ridden Felicity. Oliver himself had been in the process of trying to heat up the generic Campbell's chicken noodle and was overly grateful to overhear Digg's conversation, but the cramped space was less pleasant.

Oliver was almost as displeased as he had been then as he was now being in the small space, however he was more upset over the latest visitor. Barry Allen was in Felicity's home, meaning that he knew where it was and had likely been there before. Just the idea of that angered Oliver, although his anger was irrational. He knew he had no justifiable reason to be upset that Barry had previously been to Felicity's house, if he was allowed to be upset over that then Felicity had a hell of a lot to be upset about. It was just the idea of competition that bothered Oliver, and in any other situation, Oliver was sure that he could beat Barry Allen easily, but in the eyes of Felicity, Oliver was very insecure.

When the Allen kid had first arrived Oliver had felt mixed emotions towards him, but his feelings were established the first time he saw Allen invade his space by placing his hand on Felicity's lower back. Felicity's lower back was his territory, had been his territory. It was where he placed his hand because it didn't show too much, it was platonic but not platonic at the same time.

_"Barry, how unexpected," Felicity giggled. _

The groan that rose from Oliver's throat was barely stifled at the sound of her giggle, her flirty giggle. He knew that distinctive giggle better than anyone because for almost two years that was the giggle he always heard. Her giggles now were more seductive, less child-like. An internal groan was not suppressed when Oliver thought about how he was descriptively describing the differences between Felicity's giggles to himself.

He dismissed his actions in his head and strained his ears so that he could hear the now whispered conversations. For someone who needed to pretend as if she was the only person in the world, Felicity wasn't doing a great job by having Barry whisper. It was terribly inconvenient for Oliver too, their whispering, he could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation and it was driving him mad.

It was only eight or so minutes that Oliver was stuck hiding before Felicity bid her sweet Barry goodbye and closed the door. Heaving a sigh, Oliver ejected himself from the cramped position and made his way to the living room. Felicity was sitting on the arm of the couch and her eyes were staring off into space, her brain spinning at a million miles a minute.

"Uh," Oliver said hesitantly, "Felicity what was that about?"

Immediately Felicity snapped out of her odd and short stupor and resumed her playful attitude from before. She beamed up at Oliver before she allowed her beaming smile to transform into a smirk and she rushed into him. Oliver did not hesitate to open his arms to the girl coming at him, he seemed to read her mind enough to brace himself as well because she jumped, wrapped her legs around his waist, and clung to him like a monkey. Her lips found the corner of his jaw and Oliver hated how good it felt because he knew she was avoiding the questions that he was going to ask.

_"Why was Barry here?" _

_ "Why did you and Barry need to have a hushed conversation?"_

_ "What did you and Barry talk about?"_

_ "How many times had Barry been to your apartment before Felicity?"_

_ "Why did you flirtatiously giggle in front of Barry?"_

The last two questions were irrational, he could admit that, but the first three were good questions to ask and he needed those answers.

"Felicity," Oliver started. Felicity didn't give him the chance to finish however.

Her lips crashed over his and she didn't let him speak again. Felicity's hands were at the base of his hairline, rubbing quick circles on it and Oliver groaned into her mouth. He knew exactly what the girl was doing, she was a smart girl, and Oliver had no intention of stopping her just yet, he would get the questions out of her soon enough.

Felicity was giggling the seductive giggle as she straddled Oliver, he was still heaving, which is why she was laughing. He couldn't stop smiling at the blonde angel atop him, her ponytail was almost all the way pulled out and her headband had found its way off of her head, so strands of her hair were curling from the sweat and framing her face perfectly. His hands reached up and he cupped her face, she turned into his left hand and kissed his palm softly.

"That was a lovely distraction 'Licity," Oliver sighed as he pulled her back against his chest.

She giggled again and sighed before she spoke.

"You saw right through that, huh?"

Oliver nodded over top her head and she sighed again. Felicity was silent again for a long moment. He just held her in silence, feeling both of their chests rise together. It was contentment that Oliver was feeling, having Felicity laying on top of him, his arms wrapped around her; but the curiosity tugged at him and he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Why did Barry visit?"

"He had something to tell me," she murmured.

"And what did he have to tell you?"

Felicity just shrugged in his arms and shook her head.

"He didn't say it," Felicity said.

"So he came from Central City to see you and tell you that he needed to tell you something, and then he didn't tell you?"

"No," Felicity pushed herself off of Oliver's chest and moved off of him completely and sat at the end of the couch, her legs resting beneath her. "Barry asked me if I was busy right now, which in all fairness I was, so I said I was about to hop in the shower." Oliver didn't need to think about Barry thinking about Felicity in the shower but he didn't say a single word. "He said he had something important to tell me and that if I could, he wanted to meet for lunch. So, since we have no plans for today I said sure and now I'm meeting him at the small cafe down the street in two hours."

Oliver sat up and he felt Felicity's eyes follow his every movement. He sighed and her eyes widened.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"So," Felicity hesitated, "can I go?"

Oliver couldn't contain his laughter then, he just couldn't control himself then. He was laughing while Felicity stared at him, wide-eyed.

All mighty, hear-me-roar when she uses her loud voice, miss independent woman, Felicity Meghan Smoak was asking permission of Oliver Queen. This girl ran her entire life around Oliver's permission or approval half of the time, but now, now, she was asking for permission. He couldn't stop the laughter from rolling out of him.

"You're asking me," Oliver chuckled, "asking me for permission?"

Felicity's face hardened and she frowned. Her arms crossed over her chest and she looked none too pleased with Oliver Queen at the moment.

"Yes Mr. Queen," Felicity spoke sternly, "I was asking your permission because I know you're feelings towards Barry and I didn't want you to be upset, but since you find this all so hilarious then damn your permission, I'm going whether you want me to or not."

Quickly she stood to try to escape him and she narrowly got away. Watching Felicity be angry was like watching an angry kitten. Her face scrunched together and tried to look hateful, but just like a kitten, she couldn't achieve the full effect and he couldn't take her seriously 100%.

She had stormed off into her bedroom and Oliver could hear drawers and cabinet doors being slammed, as if she were a six year old. He chuckled to himself and just waited. The best part about their "fights" were their makeups, always.

He heard the shower water be turned on and he sighed.

"Are you coming Oliver," Felicity shouted from her bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Consistency was one of Felicity's greatest traits as well as her worst. She was mad at Oliver, despite inviting him to shower and allowing him to watch her prance around the bedroom trying to find and outfit, she was mad. In the shower she had shot down all of his flirting attempts and they awkwardly but domestically showered together. She slapped his hands away like a mother does a child while he reached out to touch her while she got dressed. Felicity was mad. She wasn't going to give into him at the moment because she was consistent and she would remain mad.

Embarrassment wasn't a new feeling for Felicity, not by any means but he knew why she was angry. When Felicity was being completely serious, like she had been with him when she was asking because she was trying to show that she cared about how he felt towards Barry, she liked to be taken seriously. Like in the foundry when Felicity was always somewhat trying to be a bit funny, break the tension that always seemed to creep over the trio, if Felicity became serious then she meant business. If she wasn't taken seriously then her face would fall and her ego would be wounded and then she would grow mad.

And mad is what she was now. She had slid on her high-waisted black skirt so quickly she almost fell, and wouldn't allow Oliver to help steady herself. She knocked her hairbrush off of the vanity too many times to count as she blew her hair dry. She broke two hair ties while trying to tie her hair back and heaved a sigh before running her fingers through it and leaving it down. Felicity was just mad and her mad made her clumsy and it made Oliver laugh, which made her even more mad.

"Stop laughing Oliver Queen," Felicity hissed as she tried to steady herself once again. While trying to quickly put on her heels she continually found herself almost falling over.

"No promises babe," Oliver chuckled before trying to dodge a flip flop that came flying at him.

"I mean it Oliver," Felicity shouted from her closet. "I don't know why you thought it was funny in the first place, the idea of asking you if it was okay for me to go to lunch with another guy. I guess me taking into consideration your feelings towards Barry is just a hilarious concept and I should've known better. Gosh Oliver, you're ridiculous ya' know? Digg told me that you didn't like Barry, even though he helped us all out, you didn't like how he was around me. I thought it was cute, thinking of jealous Oliver, so then I thought 'Let me ask my boyfriend if I can go out to lunch with the guy he isn't too fond of' and he laughs at me like I'm this hilarious, needy girlfriend.."

Oliver listened to her speech from the closet but after she brought up the "needy" girlfriend he knew what he needed to do. Felicity enjoyed being needed and wanted and being a commodity, being helpful. She didn't like the idea of being silly or a burden and he made her feel like that by laughing at her. Damn her being so insecure but Oliver thought that truthfully he only had himself to blame for it.

It only took but four steps to get into the closet to see his beautiful girl sitting on the floor trying to strap on a heel while she still babbled.

"Felicity," Oliver said over her words. She continued to speak though, ignoring him and going on about how it was mean to laugh at her. Oliver sighed and knelt to the floor next to her. She was avoiding his gaze. "Felicity shut up."

At the words "shut up" Felicity's head snapped up to look at him. Her tongue could have bleed from biting it in that moment and Oliver pecked her lips to show that he meant good.

"I appreciate you caring about my feelings and asking," Oliver started, "I only laughed because you never ask me permission for anything. You're independent and it was funny to me that you thought that you needed to ask when I just assumed you were going to go. I didn't mean to upset you and I promise I won't do it again."

A small smile grew on Felicity's face and Oliver sighed inwardly. A pair of skinny arms wrapped around his neck and he felt a warm kiss on his collar bone. He took that as an invitation, lifting her off of the closet floor and pinning her to the wall. He could feel her skirt bunching up at the top of her thighs as her legs wrapped around him. She giggled into his mouth and shook her head.

"You took forever to apologize, now we don't have any time."

Oliver pulled away from her, stunned, and then he laughed loudly. She wanted to makeup just as much as he did sometimes. Pretending to be this upset just to get what she wanted. A genius girl she was.


End file.
